Visible/infrared comparison of the VISTA Flame Nebula image

The image on the left shows the Flame Nebula in visible light. The central regions are hidden behind the dramatic dark tongue of thick dust. This image was created from photographs taken through red and blue filters and forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2. On the right is the VISTA infrared view of exactly the same region. The dust is far less prominent and the cluster of hot young stars at the object’s core is revealed. The field of view is about eighteen arcminutes across.